Fire quadruples earlier estimates as containment reaches 31 percent
Queen Creek, Arizona — The Pocket Fire burning north of Sedona has scorched more than 24,100 acres of Coconino National Forest timber and brush heading into the July Fourth weekend, and incident commanders warned Thursday that fully containing the blaze could take months because of the rugged terrain on its southern edge.
The fire, which started June 19 roughly seven miles north of Sedona, was 31 percent contained as of July 3, according to fire officials — a marked shift from earlier in the week, when it sat at 20 percent containment across 17,069 acres with no end in sight. Crews have built containment lines on the north side, but the southern perimeter remains the chief concern.
Dick Fleishman, a spokesperson with the incident command team, told a community meeting in Sedona that the southern flank is too rugged for ground crews to reach directly, so firefighters have relied on aircraft. "For 100 percent contained, yeah, it's probably going to be months," Fleishman said. "This burning down here we're not going to put that out because we're not going to be able to directly engage."
Evacuations and holiday precautions
Areas near Earls Tank and Seven Canyons Golf Club remained under preparation-to-evacuate status. Oak Creek Canyon, Forest Highlands, Kachina Village, and Pine Dell stayed in "set" evacuation status, emergency officials said. Coconino National Forest has implemented Stage 2 fire restrictions, and portions of State Route 89A and Woody Mountain Road remain closed.
